Buccal cytome assay – a non invasive screening method for evaluation of radiation exposure in computer and mobile phone users

The buccal micronucleus cytome assay is a simple non invasive method used to assay DNA damage. It is well recognized that electromagnetic fields can affect the biological functions of living organisms at both cellular and molecular level. The potential damaging effects of electromagnetic fields and very low frequency and extremely low frequency radiation emitted by computer cathode ray tube (CRT) video display monitors (VDMs) has become a concern within the scientific community. We studied the effects of occupational exposure to VDMs in 119 occupationally exposed to VDMs and 101 unexposed control subjects matched for age and sex with no history of dental ailments were recruited. Genetic damage was assessed by examining the frequency of micronuclei in exfoliated buccal cells Buccal smears obtained from the subjects were analyzed for nuclear anomalies using the buccal cytome assay. Higher degree of karyolytic cells was observed in exposed male (KL) (13.02±0.14), and females (9.81±1.04). Smokers possessed higher nuclear anomalies than the non smokers.